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Wednesday, 13 January 2016

Africa is at the forefront of the energy transition with some of the greatest challenges and best opportunities in the world. Without doubt, innovation and the ability to deliver and deploy the most effective solutions at scale will be fundamental to developing a sustainable energy future for Africa. The African energy sector requires USD 40 billion worth of investment annually with a production capacity requirement of 7,000 megawatts per year to meet the demand required to ensure energy access to all Africans. This presents a major opportunity for companies and investors to explore business opportunities in the African energy sector.

"With nations agreeing to the inclusion of energy as one of the Sustainable Development Goals, and with the visionary agreement at COP21 in Paris, energy is now at the forefront of political and business decision making,” says Dr Christoph Frei, Secretary General of the World Energy Council, the largest global network of energy leaders and practitioners and a strategic partner to Africa’s premier energy event, the Africa Energy Indaba.

Energy is also at the forefront of political and business decision making for African nations in 2016. It is therefore no surprise that 10 African Energy Ministers have confirmed their attendance to date at the upcoming Africa Energy Indaba in Johannesburg on 16-17 February, including Energy Ministers from Burundi, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Namibia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is anticipated that several more Ministers will confirm their attendance in the coming weeks. Government officials from Sao Tomé and Principe and the USA will also attend the event.

“The Africa Energy Indaba will be a key event in 2016, and as our regional event for Africa will be an important gathering for the global energy community. Following on from our Executive Assembly, held last October in Addis Ababa, we will be convening our Indaba Energy Leaders Dialogue at the Indaba to bring together ministers and senior policy makers from 15 countries to continue the conversation to build a resilient energy system for the continent.

At the meeting there will be some of the latest thinking on the potential impact of energy storage and what shale gas in a lower price world holds for the future,” says Frei. “Energy brings a different way of thinking about infrastructure and critical systems, and to navigate these transitions you have to be very clear about your priorities. This is exactly what our work on scenarios, the energy trilemma and on resilience is about, and why the Africa Energy Indaba is so important.” Read More...